


Undertale - Genocide Through Sans' Eyes

by RalseiAuthor



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Brotherhood, Childhood Memories, Final Corridor (Undertale), Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hotland (Undertale), Megalovania (Toby Fox), Music, Snowdin (Undertale), Spoilers - Undertale Genocide Route, Undertale Genocide Route, Waterfall (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-30
Updated: 2019-05-24
Packaged: 2020-02-10 02:08:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18650743
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RalseiAuthor/pseuds/RalseiAuthor
Summary: This is on hiatus until I get more inspiration for it, I've been low on ideas and there's other stuff I've wanted to work on. I'll get  back to this once I've got a plan I feel better about. Thnx for understanding :)





	1. Morning Rise

**Undertale – Genocide Through Sans’ Eyes**

**Chapter 1 – Morning Rise**

8:30 AM

The alarm next to my bed starts blaring for the fourth time. My brother wanted me to get up half an hour ago, but my bed’s been really welcoming. I’m about to slam my hand down on Snooze again when the door to my room opens.

“SANS! GET UP, YOU LAZY BONES! YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO GET READY HALF AN HOUR AGO!”

“take it easy, bro. i doubt a wave of humans is gonna drop down from the skies.” I’m about to fall asleep again when Papyrus throws off the sheet that’s been keeping me so warm and cozy.

“THAT MAY BE WHAT YOU THINK, BROTHER, BUT REMEMBER THAT YOU’RE TALKING TO A FUTURE ROYAL GUARDSMAN! I NEED YOU IN CASE TODAY’S THE DAY IT HAPPENS!”

I don’t have an argument for that. As much as I’d like to pass out for the day, I know how much my bro wants to be in the Royal Guard. Even if dragging myself out of my bed’s gonna be hard, it’d be nice to see a smile on his face. I slowly drag myself off the mattress.

“alright, alright, i’ll be right down.” He shuts the door and goes downstairs to get my breakfast ready. Reaching into my little tornado, I pull out the same outfit I wear every day. It could probably use a wash, but I don’t wanna give my brother a heart attack by keeping him waiting for me to eat any longer. I let my feet sink into my slippers and make my way down the steps.

“THERE YOU ARE! YOUR SPAGHETTI WAS ABOUT TO GET COLD.” It’s leftovers from last night’s dinner, but it wasn’t under cooked as much as usual. My bro gets too excited to try his masterpieces, and serves them before the noodles can boil long enough. I mix a bit of ketchup into the sauce when he’s not looking, and help myself to a lukewarm bite.

“WHICH OF YOUR POSTS ARE YOU STARTING AT TODAY, BROTHER?”

“staying in snowdin. hoping someone’ll swing by that i can tell some good ice-breakers to.”

“SANS! YOU HAVE TO TAKE YOUR JOBS SERIOUSLY! WITHOUT YOUR SALARY, THERE’S NO WAY WE COULD AFFORD OUR MEALS!”

Paps insists on getting the most expensive noodles he can find, so he can put his ‘talents’ to their best use. I’d try to convince him to get another brand, but it’s one of the only foods we buy anyway, and since he lets me swing by Grillby’s frequently, I can’t complain too much.

After putting enough of my bro’s cooking down my throat, I wash my dishes a bit (when you have the same thing every day, the cleanliness of the plate doesn’t matter as much), throw my sweater on, and make my way out the door. It’s a great day outside; the cold isn’t too harsh, and the kids are enjoying their weekend, playing together around the tree in the center of town.

Papyrus and I were lucky to find this town when we were looking for somewhere to stay on our own. New Town was too crowded, and I was worried that Paps would have some fear of heights we wouldn’t know about until moving into an apartment. Hotland was too- well, hot, and Waterfall felt isolated, but Snowdin’s the right blend of wacky, just not as wacky as the city.

Despite my brother’s station being closer to our home, he insists every day I start in Snowdin that he should walk me to my spot. I’m older, but he uses his height to argue that he should be the one looking out for danger, and I guess I can’t say no. I’m still kicking myself for not drinking enough milk at dinner when I was a kid; he always did, and his height shows it.

Even with my late start, I somehow make it to my station on time, and Papyrus reminds me that I still have to recalibrate my traps today before turning around. With that, I quietly stand at my station, watching the pine trees sway with the wind. The minutes start to feel like hours.

My jobs aren’t that exciting, but at least I can take snack breaks whenever I want. I pull out my ketchup bottle and take a big sip, enjoying every bit of tomato goodness I can get. I’m still looking for someone to play the loose bottle trick on, since my brother probably wouldn’t take it well.

After a nice helping of ketchup, I sit back at my chair and look at the sky, with its usual shade of dark blue. It’d be nice for something to come by and make things more interesting. I don’t need to do a whole lot to keep a smile on my face... well, I guess a smile's almost always stuck on my face... but I can’t help but get pretty bored with the usual routine. Before I can drift off while I think about this, though, something different _does_ show up.

It’s a group of lines of dust, drifting their way through the breeze. I brush off the first one, thinking it’s just coming from a campfire, but then a bunch more come after. I watch sixteen of them blow by, until a final, bigger one comes, with some white shards mixed in.

My first instinct is to blame it on my drowsy eyes and go back to watching the nature, but everything else is so clear... it can't just be me thinking this up. And the more that I thought about it, that dust couldn't be coming from a campfire. If it was, it would've just blown upward, but this dust looks like it's trying to cling together.

I get an idea of what’s going on. If the worst is true, something really wrong must’ve happened in the Ruins. As I've now put together, there’s nowhere else the dust could’ve come from, anyway. Unable to tell myself anymore that I'm just seeing this, I start to hear something, too: distant footsteps.

I know this isn’t something I can be lazy about. I zap my way to the doors to the Ruins and see what I expected. A human’s dragging its feet through the snow, not stopping to look at anything. What surprises me the most is that isn't an adult... just a fairly young kid.

I follow the human’s footsteps, trying to get a better look at them. They seem to be moving with urgency, like there’s a place they’ve really gotta get to. I figure they’re trying to get home as soon as they can. Eventually, they come to Papyrus’s amazing “gate” and seem to hear me coming. I slowly step behind them and begin to speak, noticing how frazzled their hair looks.

“human. don’t you know how to great a new pal? turn around and shake my hand.”

They gradually turn around and notice the hand that I’ve offered. They take it, and as I expected, set off the whoopee cushion I have.

“heheh… the old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. it’s ALWAYS funny.” As I say this, I look at the human’s face for the first time… and soon wish I hadn’t. There doesn’t seem to be any bit of emotion – just a blank stare. Their clothes have lines of red on them, and they’re breathing hard.

“…that’s uh. your cue to laugh. or, uh, to emote at all…?” I try winking to get the kid to lighten up a bit, but they still don’t do anything. Gee, lady behind the door, you sure have to put up with an interesting crowd, by the look of things.

"ok, that’s fine. everyone’s got their own sense of humor. i’m sans. sans the skeleton. i’m actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. but… y’know… i don’t really care about capturing anybody.” Still getting nothing from the human.

“now, my brother, papyrus… he’s a human-hunting FANATIC. hey, actually, I think that’s him over there. i have an idea. go through this gate thingy. yeah, go right through. my bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone.” For the first time, I get them to do something, as I lead them over the bridge near my station.

“quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp.” The human refuses to budge, though, and keeps their feet planted in the snow while facing away from me. For a good few seconds, things are really uncomfortable.

“uh, ok, i guess you don’t have to.” By sheer coincidence, my brother comes to check in on me right after I try to warn the kid.

“SANS! HAVE YOU FOUND A HUMAN YET!??!” Usually, I would mess around with him now and say I’ve found nothing, but this human's too weird. I can’t let it wander around without us watching.

“yeah.”

“REALLY!?!? WOWIE!!! GUESS THAT'S SETTLED!!” He turns around, probably to check his traps for the human to try to get through.

“that worked out, huh?” Rather than continuing, the kid just turns around and looks at me again with their cold, dark eyes.

“…are you just gonna stare at me, or…?” Eventually, they start to go, and I speak up again. This'll get them out of their trance for sure.

“well, I’ll be straight-forward with you. my brother’d really like to see a human… so, y’know, it’d really help me out… if you kept pretending to be one.” I expect that to get something out of them, but they just keep staring ahead. I’m tired of this and turn around to walk off, but before I do, I notice something that makes my spine freeze.

There’s a toy knife resting in their back pocket. It’s not as sharp as a real one, but bad enough to cause a monster tons of pain. It doesn’t take long for me to put it together with the red splattered on their outfit, and I start wondering what they’ve done in the Ruins.

I have to get back to Paps now. I know he’ll have his puzzles to get in the human’s way, but if the two came face to face, he’d be too excited about it. Regardless of his cooking and bouncy attitude, he’s my brother, and he's lived with me his whole life... and I can tell this is where he'll need me the most.


	2. Breaking Points

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The human's made it to Snowdin, and Sans is the only one that sees how powerful they are. Knowing how much his brother's wanted to see a human, though, all he can do is watch as Papyrus sets up his puzzles, only to have them soiled right away. There isn't much time before the human inevitably gets Papyrus to themself, and Sans' options are running thin...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize that this took so long, school started to catch up to me. Regardless, I hope ya enjoy. Here's a background track if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMX3aVbNdvo

**Chapter 2 - Breaking Points**

 

I pass by my station without giving it a thought. A human’s here – no point waiting around for another to pop up. It doesn’t take long before I catch up with my brother, who looks pretty impatient.

“SO, SANS! WHEN’S THE HUMAN SHOWING UP? I WANT TO LOOK MY SUNDAY BEST… OR AT LEAST MY TUESDAY PRETTY-GOOD.” I admire his positivity, but it makes it harder for me to get to tell him he’s worried. I try to change the subject.

“don’t you only have one outfit?”

“YEAH, BUT I COULD STYLE MY HAIR!” Again, his mood’s pleasing and worrying me at the same time, but I know how much seeing a human’s gonna mean to him.

“oh. right. good idea. say, why don’t you look over there?” I point to my left. He seems to notices the human and keeps turning between me and them. I join in, and eventually we’re left spinning around on top of the icy path. Once my bro slows down, he’s facing the other way.

“SANS!!! OH MY GOD!!!! I’M DIZZY. WHAT AM I LOOKING AT?”

“behold.” The two of us turn back around, and get a good look at who’s arrived.

“OH MY GOD!!!... WHY ARE YOU TELLING ME TO LOOK AT A ROCK.”

“hey, what’s that in front of the rock?”

“OH MY GOD!!! I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THAT IS.” This is harder than I thought it’d be.

“well. it’s not a rock.”

"NOT A ROCK…? OH NO!!! BY PROCESS OF ELIMINATION!!! THAT MEANS IT’S A HUMAN!!! AHEM!! (He voices clearing his throat out instead of actually doing it.) HUMAN!! PREPARE YOURSELF!! FOR HIGH JINKS! FOR LOW JINKS! DANGERS! PUZZLES! CAPERS! JAPERS! BEING CAPTURED!! AND OTHER SORTS OF FUN ACTIVITIES. REFRESHMENTS WILL BE PROVIDED… IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” He turns away to get his first puzzle ready. I can tell from the look on his face that he’s been wanting to do that for years. I look towards the human, hoping that Paps got either fear or a smile on their face, but once again, I see nothing.

“…and you don’t even bat an eye, huh?” I have to get back to my brother to tell him what I’ve put together. I walk away from them, but once they’re out of eyeshot, something horrible happens: a shout, followed by another clump of dust.

They’re a killer. There’s no way around it, and it’ll be heartbreaking for my bro to hear, but he has to know. I can’t let him happily try to ‘help’ this human- I’ve seen their type before, and they’re not the kind of person you can save from themselves. I don’t see my Snowdin boss, Doggo, at his station (he could be napping for all I know), so I take a piece of paper from his desk and jot a message, then stick it back. Before I reach Papyrus, I swear I see more dust come by, but I try my hardest to convince myself it’s just in my head, and keep going. I make it to my bro and try to say something, but with the smile that’s on his face, I crack and let him talk first.

“REALLY THOUGH! THAT HUMAN!” I start to think he realized the kid didn’t react at all earlier.

“DO I KNOW THAT PERSON???” Guess not. I decide to play along with it.

“do you not know… who you know?”

“PBPBPPBT!! OF COURSE I KNOW WHO I KNOW!! I WANTED TO KNOW IF YOU KNOW… I KNOW WHO I KNOW AS MUCH AS I KNOW I KNOW WHO I KNOW!... YOU KNOW?” He’s getting more fun out of this than I thought he would. The human shows up, and we turn towards them.

“OH-HO! THE HUMAN ARRIVES! IN ORDER TO STOP YOU… MY BROTHER AND I HAVE CREATED SOME PUZZLES! I THINK YOU WILL FIND THIS ONE…” I’m ready for what’s next.

“QUITE SHOCKING!!!” Yup. Before my bro can finish, the human starts walking, and has already made it half way.

“FOR YOU SEE, THIS IS… THE, INVISIBLE… UHHHHHHH…?” Poor Paps had spent months planning what he’d say to a human, and they’d ruined it in about ten seconds.

“HMMM… YOU MUST BE HAVING CULTURE SHOCK. YOU SEE, WHERE I COME FROM, IT’S A LOVING TRADITION. TO SUFFER THROUGH HORRIBLE PUZZLES FOR NO REASON." It’s not, but I let him keep going. "SO, UH, JUST WALK BACK THERE, AND… …” The human walks through the rest of the puzzle, now standing by Papyrus’s feet. I clench my fists inside my sweatshirt, watching every move the human makes. My bro looks away from both of us.

“SIGH… WHY COULDN’T WE GET A HUMAN THAT LIKES PUZZLES???” With that, he marched off to yet another puzzle, and I could see the frustration on his face. He’s wanted this for his whole life, and this human’s taking every bit of fun out of it. They wander towards me next, and I’m as blunt as I can be.

“it would make my brother happy if you played along.” As I expect, they walk away silently.

I find my way back to my brother, wanting to tell him everything I can about the human. I want him to have fun, but it’s so sad seeing him try to get something out of this human that he’ll never find. But, once again, right when I wanna talk, they return.

“HUMAN! I HOPE YOU’RE READY FOR…” Oops. This was supposed to be where I make a puzzle, but I got careless. Any other day, I’d shrug, but I can’t now. I try to still keep up an act.

“SANS!!! WHERE’S THE PUZZLE!!!”

“it’s right there. on the ground. trust me. there’s no way they’ll skip this one.” I know I’m lying, but I have to… until, that is, they actually _do_ glance at it, before walking again.

“WHAT THE HECK!!! THEY DIDN’T SKIP IT!?!?”

“i’m tellin’ ya. everyone likes word searches.”

“OH MY GOD!!! I CAN’T WORK IN THIS ENVIRONMENT!!” He walks off again. I get the slightest twinge of hope, and tell the human that.

“i guess despite all that, you still like word searches, huh…? that means you can’t be all bad.” They don’t answer.

On my way to the next puzzle, I see something really out of place: a vine growing in the snow. It confuses me; back when Paps tried to take up gardening for a month, he didn’t understand it was too cold for his plants to grow, and none of the ones with vines made it. Today of all days, I run into one. Trying to push it out of my thoughts, I make it to my brother’s next puzzle.

“papyrus, we need to talk abooooouuuuutttt…” Too late again. The human’s already arrived. It’s that tile puzzle Dr. Alphys lent to us.

“HEY! IT’S THE HUMAN! YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS PUZZLE! IT WAS MADE BY THE GREAT…” They walk over half the puzzle, like I’ve grown to expect. It’s grown less worrying and more monotonous by now.

“…ARE YOU SERIOUS? SANS!!! HELP!!! THEY KEEP WALKING THROUGH MY PUZZLES! THEY’RE SUPPOSED TO LET ME EXPLAIN THEM. THEN THREATEN AND BAFFLE THEM WITH DANGEROUS JAPES.” He’s somehow still got that beaming attitude.

“well, maybe they don’t like japes.”

“EVERYONE LIKES JAPES!!!”

“what about undyne? doesn’t she hate puzzles?”

“SHE HATES PUZZLES. BUT SHE LOVES JAPES.”

“that makes sense.”

“HUMAN!! WHAT DO YOU THINK!? PUZZLES OR JAPES?” I’m not sure why he’s expecting an answer, cause all he hears is the brushing from the trees.

“…OKAY, THIS IS NORMALLY THE PART. WHERE YOU EITHER AGREE OR DISAGREE. AND DEPENDING ON YOUR ANSWER. WE SAY SOMETHING GREAT IN RESPONSE.” Once again, there’s no reply, and I can tell my bro’s starting to get really bothered. He pulls out a piece of paper and scribbles something on it.

“HERE, WHY DON’T YOU DO THIS PUZZLE YOURSELF.” I back away from him as he leaves to get his final and most dangerous puzzle ready. For the last time, I try to tell the human to give it a shot.

“hey… puzzles might be fun. if you tried them.” After the human leaves, I take the paper Papyrus made to see how the thing works… but I can’t read it. His hand was shaking so much that none of it’s legible.

As I run to the bridge, I try to tell the Greater Dog what I’ve seen and that they should run away, but they don’t put any of it together, cause they’re... well, a dog. A minute later, as I pass the bridge, I see some more dust. I know who’s next, and I can’t let it happen.

“papyrus! please listen-” It’s still no use. We see the human arrive on the bridge.

“HUMAN! THIS IS YOUR FINAL AND MOST DANGEROUS CHALLENGE! BEHOLD! THE GAUNTLET OF DEADLY TERROR!” My brother’s weapons that he pulled from the dump lower on ropes. Looks like he stole the neighbor’s dog again, too, so I’ll have to pull him off when this is over with. Regardless, there’s no way the human can’t be at least a little panicked.

“WHEN I SAY THE WORD, IT WILL FULLY ACTIVATE!!! CANNONS WILL FIRE! SPIKES WILL SWING! BLADES WILL SLICE!" And dogs will bark? "EACH PART WILL SWING VIOLENTLY UP AND DOWN!" Poor doggo. "ONLY THE TINIEST CHANCE OF VICTORY WILL REMAIN!!! ARE YOU READY?! BECAUSE! I! AM! ABOUT! TO DO IT!”

He does nothing. For one of the first times, my bro seems reluctant to do something.

“well? what’s the holdup?”

“HOLDUP!? WHAT HOLDUP!? I’M… I’M ABOUT TO ACTIVATE IT NOW!” He still just stares at the puzzle, not hitting any buttons.

“that, uh, doesn’t look very activated.”

“WELL!!!... THEY’RE PROBABLY GOING TO WALK THROUGH IT. AND IT WON’T BE ANY FUN AT ALL.” This is my chance to steer him away from meeting the human again.

“hmmm… so this human thing was a bust, huh?”

“WELL. I MEAN. I’M EXCITED TO CAPTURE THEM. SO I’LL BECOME A FAMOUS ROYAL GUARDSMAN!!!” How could I forget? This human’s the key to Papyrus’s goal of joining the Royal Guard. There’s not much I can do to stop him when he’s this close, and I can’t blame him for that.

“BUT ALL THE TIME I PUT INTO THESE PUZZLES… IT’S KIND OF LIKE THROWING A BIRTHDAY PARTY…” If I don’t stop him, he’ll remember the birthday party no one went to.

“without traps and fire?”

“EXACLTY!! IT’S POINTLESS!!! MAYBE YOU WERE RIGHT TO BE LAZY ABOUT PUZZLES.”

“me? right about something? really?” For a moment, I think he’s gonna agree.

“...YEAH!! WHAT AM I SAYING! YOU’RE STILL COMPLETELY WRONG! I JUST HAVE THE WRONG AUDIENCE! THINK ABOUT HOW MUCH FUN UNDYNE WOULD HAVE HERE! FLAMES, VIOLENCE. IT’S RIGHT UP HER ALLEY. SO I WON’T WASTE THIS PUZZLE ON YOU. I JUST HAVE TO APPRECIATE… THE FRIEND I ALREADY HAVE!!!” He hits another button, and the gauntlet pulls away, including the dog. Ugh.

“PHEW!... A VALUABLE LIFE LESSON!!! NYEH HEH HEH!!!” He hands _me_ a note this time and storms off, seemingly trying to meet up with Undyne. The human keeps walking along the bridge, and I know my brother’s his next target. I give a final try to talk to them.

“hmmm… guess we didn’t need your help to have a good time after all.” I close my eyes and take a deep breath.

“say, i’ve been thinking. seems like you’re gonna fight my brother pretty soon. here’s some friendly advice. if you keep going the way you are now… …” Enough beating around the bush.

“you’re gonna have a bad time.” I teleport back to the house.

I have to take a minute to sit on the couch and just breathe. Once that’s over with, I open up the note and try to make out what it says: 'GRAB THE BOOMBOX. THE TAPE’S ALREADY READY.'

Years ago, my bro bought this boombox that he wanted to save for a ‘special occasion.’ I guess this is special enough, so I find it in the shed/captured human room, heave it off the ground, and teleport back.

“THERE YOU ARE, BROTHER! MY FEET WERE GETTING STUCK TO THE GROUND.” He’s been standing by Waterfall’s entrance, which the human has no way around going through. His unwashed cape is blowing in the wind in all its glory.

“geez, bro, you try lifting this thing and getting here fast.” I set it on the snow for a bit. “why’d ya need it right now, though?”

“BECAUSE WHEN I CONVINCE THE HUMAN TO BE A BETTER PERSON, I WANT SOME TRIUMPHANT MUSIC TO CAPTURE THE MOMENT!” There’s something nearby he hasn’t noticed yet.

“bro, did you not glance at what Snowdin’s like?”

“OF COURSE NOT! I’D GIVE AWAY MY LOCATION IF THE HUMAN SAW ME TOO SOON.”

“...it’s empty. Everyone’s either gone or evacuated.”

“GONE?! WOULDN’T THAT BE THE SAME THING AS LEAVING?” I have to break this to him now, or I never will.

“papyrus… that human’s a killer. everything that gets in their way dies.”

“OH, THAT’S JUST A LAZY ASSUMPTION, BROTHER. EVERYONE’S PROBABLY IN AWE, THEY DIDN’T THINK THEY’D SEE A HUMAN TODAY.”

“i’ve been trying to tell you this whole time, dude. you got so happy whenever they showed up that i had to keep my mouth shut. this isn’t safe.

“I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR YEARS, BROTHER! EVEN IF EVERYTHING YOU SAY IS TRUE, WHICH IT MOST DEFINITELY ISN’T, THIS IS MY CHANCE TO INSPIRE SOMEONE!!!” There isn’t much else I can say.

“papyrus, i’m trying to help you. if you stay there, the human’s gonna do the same thing to you they’ve done to everyone else.”

“THEY HAVEN’T SEEN A FUTURE ROYAL GUARDSMAN YET! MY CUNNING WORDS AND COMFORTING ATTITUDE WILL SURELY GET THEM ON THE RIGHT TRACK.”

“paps… please. listen to my advice and go home. i’ll even try to make dinner.”

“I WILL TAKE YOU UP ON YOUR OFFER SOME OTHER TIME, BROTHER, AND I’M HAPPY TO SEE YOU CARE ABOUT SOMETHING, BUT IT WILL ALL HAVE TO WAIT. NOTHING WILL STOP ME WHEN I’VE COME THIS FAR!!! NOW, PLEASE WAIT OVER THERE AND GET THE BOOMBOX READY FOR THE BIG MOMENT.” He walks ahead before I can say another word, and I have no choice but to do as he says.

I drag myself to a nearby hill with a tree to hide behind, and turn the volume up on the boombox as loud as I can. The human pushes their way through the snow and comes face to face with my brother. I squeeze onto the tree branch, fearing the worst.

“HALT, HUMAN!” They get a bit closer.

“HEY, QUIT MOVING WHILE I’M TALKING TO YOU! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE SOME THINGS TO SAY.” I doubt any of them’ll be listened to, but I keep my mouth shut.

“FIRST: YOU’RE A FREAKING WEIRDO! NOT ONLY DO YOU NOT LIKE PUZZLES. BUT THE WAY YOU SHAMBLE ABOUT FROM PLACE TO PLACE… THE WAY YOUR HANDS ARE ALWAYS COVERED IN DUSTY POWDER." I didn’t know he noticed, too… "IT FEELS… LIKE YOUR LIFE IS GOING DOWN A DANGEROUS PATH.” Bro… if you felt this way, why didn’t you tell me? Were you trying that hard to hide your fear?

“HOWEVER! I, PAPYRUS, SEE GREAT POTENTIAL WITHIN YOU! EVERYONE CAN BE A GREAT PERSON IF THEY TRY! AND ME, I HARDLY HAVE TO TRY AT ALL!!! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!!!” I have to laugh a bit. My bro’s nothing if not passionate. My chuckle doesn’t last long, though, as the human gets even closer.

“HEY, QUIT MOVING! THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT! HUMAN! I THINK YOU ARE IN NEED OF GUIDANCE! SOMEONE NEEDS TO KEEP YOU ON THE STRAIGHT AND NARROW! BUT WORRY NOT! I, PAPYRUS… WILL GLADLY BE YOUR FRIEND AND TUTOR! I WILL TURN YOUR LIFE RIGHT AROUND!!!”

A thousand ideas run through my mind for how this could end, and none of them are good. It’s like watching a car wreck; you can’t turn your eye(socket)s away. The human gets closer yet again.

“I SEE YOU ARE APPROACHING. ARE YOU OFFERING A HUG OF ACCEPTANCE? WOWIE!! MY LESSONS ARE ALREADY WORKING!! I, PAPYRUS, WELCOME YOU WITH OPEN ARMS!” He gets down on his knee and spreads his arms out. I’m shaking more than I ever have before, and I desperately want to get down there and stop this, but it’s the moment he’s wanted his whole life. I can’t let my fear ruin it.

However, rather than fight, the human slowly shifts towards my brother and pulls an arm around his chest. The stress in their face goes away, and they seem comfortable. Papyrus happily accepts the hug and puts his arms around them. I can’t believe it! My brother somehow pulled it off! He’s saved the human, and the rest of the Underground! I throw my arms up in pride and get ready to hit the play button.

But before I can, the human reaches back with their other arm. They pull the toy knife out of their pocket… and slice it through my brother’s neck bone in one swift moment.

.

.

.

_A memory comes back to my head. I’m just a kid, and my brother’s only a few years old. I’ve fallen asleep on the couch after watching too much TV, a slice of pizza still in my hand. I hear my brother’s little footsteps make their way to the living room._

_“SANSIE! IT’S MY BEDTIME!” I open an eyesocket and see him happily watching me, with his nightcap on and a book in his hands._

_“oh, hey, paps. i was in the middle of my best nap in weeks.”_

_“AWWWW, BUT BROTHER! IT’S TIME FOR MY BEDTIME STORY!”_

_“hmm? oh, yeah, that thing.” I turn the other way, too tired to understand._

_“DON’T YOU WANNA READ MY STORY TO ME? IT’S MORE FUN WITH YOU!”_

_“…you *burp* you don’t wanna read it on your own?”_

_“YOU KNOW ALL THE RIGHT VOICES! I CAN’T SOUND ALL DRONING LIKE YOU, HAHAHA!!”_

_“…eh, alright, why not.” I drag myself off the couch, rub my face a bit, and push my feet into my slippers. He hops in joy and runs up the steps to his room. It might cut my nap off, but it’s worth it to see that smile on his face, and if he’s gonna be a royal guardsman someday, I’ve gotta keep him inspired. When I get to his room, he’s already under the sheets, and he hands me the book._

_“this one again? i know it’s your fav, but i read it last night.”_

_“BUT I KEPT THINKING ABOUT THE PART WITH THE VINE AND THE POND ALL DAY! IT’S FRIENDS WORKING TOGETHER, LIKE YOU AND ME… WELL, MAYBE MOSTLY ME, BUT YOU TOO!!”_

_“heh, you’re an honest kiddo. alright, i’ll read this one again.” I clear my throat. “*cough* once upon a time, in a forest deep in the underground…” I go through the story, and Paps says his favorite lines with me. Wolfy and Snakey go through all these crazy challenges together, and their differences are what help them get through. Paps knows the ending by heart, but he still likes me to say it anyway._

_“and so, wolfy said to snakey, ‘i might use paws and you might slither with glee, but i’m your friend and you’re a friend to me.”_

_“OOO, OOO! AND WHAT DID SNAKEY SAY TO WOLFY?!”_

_“he smiled and said, “no matter what, we’ll be friends for all eternity.” I close the book, and he claps._

_“YAY! THANKS FOR STOPPING YOUR NAP TO *yawn* TELL THE STORY, BROTHER.”_

_“no problem, bro. just hope i don’t ‘forget’ to turn the light off when i leave.”_

_“SSSAAAANNNS!”_

_“heh, just kidding, paps.”_

_“GOOD NIGHT, SANSIE!” He lays his skull on his pillow._

_“night night, bro.” I turn the light off and shut the door._

.

.

.

I snap back into reality. After the swing, all I hear is the wind blowing, and I try to make out what’s in front of me. My brother’s laying in the snow as the human stands over him, and his skull comes off his spine.

“W-WELL, THAT’S NOT WHAT I EXPECTED…” The human cleans off the knife with their shirt.

“BUT… ST… STILL! I BELIEVE IN YOU! YOU CAN DO A LITTLE BETTER! EVEN IF YOU DON’T THINK SO! I… I PROMISE…” I watch the human give his head a sharp kick and shamble into Waterfall without a word.

For a few seconds, I’m frozen in time, before I snap out of it and run to my brother. My slippers go flying off, but I don’t give them a moment’s thought. I drop to my knees and wrap my arms around my brother, trying to get his skull back onto the rest of his body.

“S-SANS… IT’S OKAY… THANK YOU FOR NOT STOPPING ME. IF I HADN’T TRIED, I COULDN’T HAVE LIVED WITH MYSELF.”

“B-BUT PLEASE… SHOW THEM… SOME MERCY.”

“p…paps…” His head drops, and I hear nothing else. I collapse onto his chest and let out a scream, wanting nothing but to go wherever he’s going.


End file.
